FIGUERO JONES X BLACK NAPOLEON

ANNOUNCES WAVY NEW SINGLE
‘NO SOFAS’

OUT NOW

Young Perth-based rappers Figuero Jones and Black Napoleon return with a wavy motivational anthem titled ‘No Sofas’ available everywhere now! Emerging at the forefront of the Australian hip-hop scene this duo can be seen creating their own wave that has left a rippling effect spread across the entire nation. Coming off the back of their previous collaboration Blue Faces that came with a slick new visual, it is clear that this duo is an up-and-coming force to be reckoned with.

Inspired by American heavyweights Lil Wayne, Kanye West, Jay Z, Drake and Biggie it is clear their style is set to redefine the Australian hip-hop norm, proven by the reception that they have received not just from their home state, but from Melbourne as they have consistently been featured on hip-hop blogs Off The Clef and  AUD’$.

Neither Figuero Jones or Black Napoleon can be considered conservative when it comes to the amount of work that they produce. From constantly being in the studio, performing live and collaborating with artists and producers, this duo both have a catalogue of work to be released and shows to announce. With hints at a collab-tape dropping between the duo in the coming months, all eyes are staying glued onto their current movements.

Stream ‘No Sofas’ on Spotify Here

PAUL KELLY – MAKING GRAVY

KICKING OFF THE FESTIVE SEASON
WITH THREE VERY SPECIAL OUTDOOR
CONCERTS THIS DECEMBER
JOINED BY SPECIAL GUESTS ANGUS & JULIA STONE, ALEX LAHEY, D.D DUMBO (SYD), ANGIE MCMAHON (SYD) & MOJO JUJU (MEL & BRIS)

After debuting with a sold-out show for 12,000 lucky fans last December, Frontier Touring are delighted to confirm that due to overwhelming public demand, Paul Kelly’s Making Gravy will once again kick off the festive season, extending in 2018 with an east coast trio of unmissable outdoor concerts.

Making Gravy will see Kelly perform songs from his four decade career, including the  Christmas classic ‘How To Make Gravy’, with special guests hand-picked by him also joining the festive lineup to perform on the night.

The tour will return to Melbourne’s much-loved Sidney Myer Music Bowl on Friday 14 December before heading to Sydney’s The Domain on Saturday 15 December and Brisbane’s Riverstage on Friday 21 December.

As one of Australia’s greatest performers and songwriters with an incredible career that spans over forty years, Kelly continues to delight music fans across the world. Having recorded 24 studio albums, multiple film soundtracks and two live albums, and a vast array of hit songs including ‘To Her Door’, ‘Dumb Things’, and ‘From Little Things Big Things Grow’, Kelly was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 1997.

Kelly returns this year with new studio album Nature (out 12 October through EMI Australia). Launched by first single ‘With The One I Love’, Nature brings together poems from five literary greats – Dylan Thomas, Walt Whitman, Sylvia Plath, Gerard Manley Hopkins and Phillip Larkin alongside poems Kelly wrote himself and his own original songs.

Kelly says, “I think of ‘Nature’ as a companion piece to ‘Life Is Fine’, itself full of moons, rain, rocks, rivers, seas, smells and lovers.”

Kelly released Life is Fine last year, his 23rd studio album and his first ever #1 album on the ARIA Albums chart across the course of his career. He also collected Best Male and Best Adult Contemporary Album, as well as Best Cover Art and Engineer Of The Year for the album at last year’s ARIA Awards. As one of his strongest and most successful albums, Kelly took the album on the road playing an incredible 16-date run of shows for audiences across Australia and New Zealand.

“Life Is Fine is an unabashed attempt to recapture the feel and energy of some of those early records…It’s just a Paul Kelly album, and a very good one at that. – The Guardian

“The packed forecourt crowd adore this man and his stories….Anthem after anthem was sprinkled into the set. Another glorious chapter has been written in the history of Paul Kelly.” – The Music

“Listening to Life Is Fine, the first impression one gets is that Kelly is having fun; pure, unashamed fun; fun without boundaries. The album is packed with the ease and grace that Kelly just kind of naturally gives off these days – the kind of effortless precision that comes from a lifetime of effort’s expenditure.” – Tone Deaf

Audiences will be treated to a stellar lineup of musical acts at all Making Gravy shows where Kelly will be joined by special guests Angus & Julia Stone (all shows) and Alex Lahey (all shows), Mojo Juju in Melbourne and Brisbane and D.D Dumbo and Angie McMahon in Sydney.

Siblings Angus & Julia Stone have cemented their status as one of Australia’s most loved acts over the years. They reignited fans and acquired a whole new set in September last year with the release of fourth studio LP Snow, featuring gorgeous lead single ‘Chateau’, which reached No. 3 on triple j’s 2017 Hottest 100. Their appearances at Making Gravy follow a huge run of sold out metro, regional and international shows earlier this year.

Melbourne-based, singer/songwriter Alex Lahey broke onto the scene with her 2016 debut EP B-Grade University which caught the attention of Tegan and Sara who she supported on their UK tour. Following an outstanding year of success, Lahey released her first album I Love You Like A Brother last year including hit singles ‘Every Day’s The Weekend’ and ‘I Haven’t Been Taking Care Of Myself’.

D.D Dumbo is known for his unique pop sound. Using a 12-string guitar and looping pedals, he draws on a number of influences including Tuvan melodies and various African traditions. His most recent album Utopia Defeated, was released to widespread critical acclaim in 2016 receiving triple j’s Australian Album of the Year award and is a unique, playful and seductive body of work that featured singles ‘Walrus’ and ‘Satan’.

Bursting with incredible talent, Angie McMahon oozes charm and songwriting power. Her incredible vocals and beautiful guitar sounds can be heard on her most recent singles ‘Missing Me’ and ‘Slow Mover’.

Melbourne’s Mojo Juju blends live instrumentation with electronic production. With a strong focus on the human voice, she puts on an a stellar live show with a number of outstanding singles including new track ‘Native Tongue’.

Following the outstanding success of Making Gravy last December, Christmas is coming early for delighted audiences in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Purchase tickets now to avoid missing out on the festive show of the season!

PAUL KELLY – MAKING GRAVY
AUSTRALIAN TOUR
DECEMBER 2018
With special guests Angus & Julia Stone, Alex Lahey,
D.D Dumbo (Syd), Angie McMahon (Syd) & Mojo Juju (Mel & Bris)
Presented by Frontier Touring, Triple M & MAX

FRONTIER MEMBERS PRE-SALE 
via frontiertouring.com/makinggravy
Begins: Monday 20 August (2pm AEST)
Ends: Tuesday 21 August (2pm AEST)
or until pre-sale allocation exhausted

Friday 14 December
Sidney Myer Music Bowl | Melbourne, VIC
With special guests Angus & Julia Stone, Alex Lahey and Mojo Juju
All Ages
ticketmaster.com.au | Ph: 136 100

Saturday 15 December
The Domain | Sydney, NSW
With special guests Angus & Julia Stone, Alex Lahey, D.D Dumbo & Angie McMahon
18+*
*U18s must be accompanied by a parent/legal guardian
ticketmaster.com.au | Ph: 136 100

Friday 21 December
Riverstage | Brisbane, QLD
With special guests Angus & Julia Stone, Alex Lahey and Mojo Juju
All Ages
ticketmaster.com.au | Ph: 136 100

THE VANNS
RELEASE NEW SINGLE
‘HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW‘
ANNOUNCE UPCOMING AUSTRALIAN TOUR

Formed in High School in their hometown of Wollongong, The VANNS story centres around Jimmy Vann (vocals/guitars) and Lachie Jones (drummer) when they casually threw a band together to enter a competition. Following 2017’s EP, Shake The Hand That Starts The Fight, the four piece are thrilled to announce brand new single, How Was I Supposed To Know and a string of shows in support of the single. The How Was I Supposed To Know single tour will be supported by Wing Defence and kicks off at Yours & Owls Festival in Wollongong, followed by a headline run down the coast from Brisbane through to Adelaide.

How Was I Supposed To Know is produced by Oscar Dawson (Holy Holy, Ali Barter, Alex Lahey) and showcases the band’s unique rock roaring sound. “This song is about the collapse of a relationship and the frustration, confusion and envy that comes along with seeing the other person easily move on whilst you’re still caught up in what was. “Baby, you don’t feel inside. Can you teach me how to feel how you feel?” explains vocalist / guitarist, James Vann.

Bloods are excited to announce their sophomore album Feelings will be released worldwide on
17th August, via US label Share It Music and distributed world-wide via Sub Pop.
To celebrate the news, Bloods have also released the video for their acclaimed single and title track
of the album ‘Feelings’ and you can view it here:

Since their inception, Bloods have maintained their place as one of the country’s most endearing
bands. Whether it’s through their highly infectious, undeniably fun punk-pop-meets-riot-grrrl tunes
or their live shows, Bloods have consistently been celebrated by critics and fans alike.
Feelings sees Bloods songs evolve from garage-punk fun to fully realised pop-punk anthems. The
song-writing on Feelings is proof of a band that has grown together and learned to embraced their
collective love of pop hooks and wall-of-sound distortion. Pushing themselves further than ever
before, Feelings was written over a tumultuous eighteen month period and while lead singer MC
was processing the end of a ten year relationship, which inevitably crept into so many of the songs
that make up the record.

MC: “It’s felt like such a huge feat to get this album done. We faced so many challenges along the
way, including writers block and running out of money. I went through a pretty debilitating break-up
and Sweetie moved to Melbourne. Sometimes it felt like this album would never be finished! I think so
many of these things ended up influencing what shaped Feelings. There are some deeply personal
songs on this record, something that is very new to Bloods. When we listened to the finished album, I
said to Dirk ‘there are so many feelings on this record, we should call it Feelings’. So we did”
Taking on a much broader palette of influences ranging from shoe-gaze to 90s indiedance,
Feelings was recorded with producer and friend Liam Judson (‘Bliss Release’ Cloud Control/
‘Hope Downs’ Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever) in the games room of Liam’s parents’ house in NSW’s
Blue Mountains. The record sees Bloods embracing guitars like never before, which lead to the
band enlisting a new addition and fourth Blood, Mike Morgan.

MC: “I’d keep hearing all these little extra guitar parts when I was writing and recording. I wanted to
record everything without thinking about how I’d replicate the parts live, just approach it openly and
freely, which is really different to how we did our last record. After we finished tracking the album, we
loved how layered everything was and decided to add an extra member to the band, so that we
could replicate what’s on the album, live. Dirk had been playing in a band with Mike and the rest is
history.”
Mixed by producer Shane Stoneback (Sleigh Bells/Fucked Up/Cults) with additional mixing and
production done by the band’s new guitarist Mike Morgan, singles ‘Bring My Walls Down’ and
‘Bug Eyes’ have already received critical acclaim from KEXP, triple j, Rolling Stone, Blunt
Magazine and Consequence of Sound.
Having inked a deal with Share It Music in 2018, a US-based record label. Headed up by Sub Pop
Records’ Cayle Sharratt, Share It Music is operated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organisation, splitting
proceeds between artists, their chosen charity, and the label, which in this case is Australianbased
Indigenous Literacy Foundation.
A band that continues to evolve, Feelings proves Bloods have come a very long way since learning
to play their instruments to start the band.

Feelings is out 17th August on Share It Music, distributed world-wide via Sub Pop.

With nine days to go before the arrival of new Alice In Chains album Rainier Fog (BMG), anticipation is ramping up with the release of new single Never Fade 

Never Fade is the third Rainier Fog song release following  So Far Under and  The One You Know.

Recorded with producer Nick Raskulinecz (his 3^rd consecutive album with the band) and mixed by Joe Barresi (Queens of the Stone Age, Tool), Rainier Fog will be available digitally, as well as on CD and limited-edition double 180-gram clear LP with white and black splatter (the latter is available only from the band’s online store HERE).

RAINIER FOG follows 2013’s Grammy nominated The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here, which entered Billboard’s Top 200 chart at No. 2 and debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums, Hard Rock Albums charts and the iTunes Rock Album Chart. Its first two singles, “Stone” and “Hollow,” both shot to No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and “Voices” hit No. 3. All three tracks stayed on the chart for over 20 weeks.

Guns N’ Roses bassist and New York Times Best-Selling Author Duff McKagan recently wrote an Alice In Chains bio to accompany the album release (scroll down to read in its entirety).

“Rainier Fog is another step further into the brilliance and musicality of what we have now come to expect from AIC,” wrote McKagan. “Sean Kinney’s super-unique drum style tells one epic story, Inez’s brooding bass lines tell yet another, Duvall’s guitar prowess and lead vocals guide and narrate and nurture the triumph and torture of the subject matter, and Cantrell’s jaw-dropping songwriting, vocals, and now-legendary riff-master approach all combine for another simply brilliant effort.”

“This is a band to cherish and be thankful to have as our own,” says McKagan. “Our living and breathing gauge of what is right with rock and fucking roll.”

ALICE IN CHAINS BIOGRAPHY BY DUFF McKAGAN

Alice In Chains have always done it their way. From the beginnings of their career until now, AIC has defied any sort of categorization or mold.  No particular trend over their now-30-year career, has influenced them to do the more popular zig or zag of that moment.

A quick look at their stats proves they’ve been doing it right: over 30 million records sold, two No. 1 albums, six Top 10’s on the Billboard 200, five No. 1 singles, sixteen Top 10 hits, 9 Grammy Award nominations…I could go on.

They stay true to themselves—the deep introspect, the sheer and terrifying swan dives into dark areas of the human experience and the elation of overcoming.

And of course, overcome they have.

But there’s no reason at this point in the Alice In Chains story to dwell on the past. The loss of Layne Staley was brutal and heart-wrenching and he is missed by all for damn sure, and the subsequent loss of original bassist Mike Starr was just as soul-crushing for all who knew him, but to watch Jerry Cantrell, Sean Kinney and Mike Inez gather themselves along with the brilliant William Duvall, was to me, like watching “Rocky” in 1976 as a 12-year-old. The underdog who put in all the hard work and experienced all the hard knocks and hidden trap doors life could throw at you, yet rose to fight back with elegance and power.

Only they knew what they had at first, but with the release of 2009’s “comeback” record, Black Gives Way To Blue, debuting at #5 on the Billboard 200 and spawning two No. 1 singles and two Grammy nominations, the band remained at the very top of their game. The whole rock n’ roll world seemed to rejoice at once. This was our “Rocky” story.

Proving that album’s success was no fluke, the release that followed, 2013’s The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here (the title a tongue-in-cheek jab at creationists), debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, also featured two No. 1 hits and earned a Grammy nod. Along the way, they continued to play to packed-house crowds around the world.

On a personal note, I’m convinced the band doesn’t give a damn about Grammys or any sort of award-driven accolade. They make music for and about their ardent fans. Attending an AIC show is akin to going to church and coming out cleansed and feeling generally better about the chaos that is this life. Their pure artistry and songwriting takes us all to another place.

The newest record, Rainier Fog (the title a soaring tribute to Seattle itself) is another step further into the brilliance and musicality of what we have now come to expect from AIC. Sean Kinney’s super unique drum style tells one epic story, Inez’s brooding bass lines tell yet another, Duvall’s guitar prowess and lead vocals guide and narrate and nurture the triumph and torture of the subject matter, and Cantrell’s jaw-dropping songwriting, vocals, and now-legendary riff-master approach all combine for another simply brilliant effort.

“The One You Know” will rip your fucking head off, as will “So Far Under” and title track “Rainier Fog,” and the searingly apropos “Red Giant” is deadly truth to power.  “All I Am” and “Fly” give time for deeper inner-reflection and that classic AIC sound-scaping that we all love. From top to bottom, Rainier Fog is, like all great Alice In Chains albums, “all killer and no filler.”